He called for priority to ideology in army building and military activities, stressing that showdown with the enemy is just confrontation not only in military strength but also in ideology.

When making an inspection tour of a unit of the Korean People's Army (KPA) in January 2007, he underscored the need to intensify the education in ideology and faith among soldiers. Some days later, he told leading commanding officers that the KPA is not merely an armed group, but a school training young people politically and ideologically.

On the basis of the theory that ideology is decisive of regulating human activities, he always gave precedence to the service personnel in army building.

Thanks to Kim Jong Il's guidance over the KPA with stress put on ideology, all servicepersons have grown up to be men steadfast in ideology and faith, fully ready to dedicate themselves to the Party and the leader, the country and the people.